Games of chance are fun and exciting for players to play for amusement. The excitement is enhanced when the game is played in a casino setting whereat players can wager upon an anticipated outcome of the game. If the anticipated outcome occurs, the wager is won and the player receives a prize. If the outcome wagered upon does not occur, the wager is lost.
One such game found in many casinos is referred to as the Wheel of Fortune game. Typically, such Wheel of Fortune games are based upon the use of a large wheel or spinner which is rotated by an employee of the casino and gradually slows until it stops to register one of a plurality of spaces around its periphery at a payline. The peripheral spaces are marked, often with representations of denominations of money, to indicate the difference between the various outcomes which can be wagered upon. For example, different denominations of dollar bills, five dollar bills, ten dollar bills, twenty dollar bills and one or two joker or logo indicia are distributed about the periphery in different concentrations. A wagering board, having like symbols of the denominations, provides a place for the players to make wagers. Payoffs are determined by the concentrations of the symbols, e.g. dollar bills, in relation to the overall number of peripheral spaces. Thus, a player may place a wager on a dollar bill and twenty dollar bill anticipating that the Wheel of Fortune game will register when it stops at the payline a like dollar bill or twenty dollar bill. Payoffs may be, for example, 1 to 1 for a dollar bill symbol wager and 20 to 1 for a twenty dollar symbol wager.
The Wheel of Fortune game, while providing fun and excitement, has several drawbacks. One drawback is that typically the payoffs offered do not exceed 40 to 1. Therefore, large jackpots can not be awarded. The offering of a large jackpot contributes to the excitement of the game for players and bystanders alike.
Furthermore, the Wheel of Fortune game does not proactivley induce passers by or bystanders to play the game. Quite often, for this reason, the Wheel of Fortune game in casinos is often tucked away at a location near for example, a restaurant to garner casual play as passers by wager their pocket change. The simplicity of the game, the lack of proactive enticement of players and the failure to offer large jackpots has impacted the ability of the Wheel of Fortune game to compete with other games.
It has also been known to provide a secondary or "bonus" game with a primary game such as an electromechanical or video, multi-reel, slot machine. One such machine has a secondary game including a rotating wheel divided into sectors, each sector identifying a prize such as different amounts of money. When the player obtains a certain outcome such as a specified symbol in the primary game, the secondary game is activated causing the wheel to rotate to select a sector and the corresponding prize of that sector is awarded.
A drawback of such games is that the secondary game does not proactively attract players to the game by offering an enticing secondary game. Further, a secondary game offering outcomes relating to Poker hands is not provided. It would be advantageous to provide a device having a secondary or bonus game which overcomes these drawbacks.